


Smitten

by Nauxea



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 15:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11360052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nauxea/pseuds/Nauxea
Summary: When Noctis accidentally warp strikes through Gladio, the last thing the shield expected was to get sent to the future.





	Smitten

**Author's Note:**

> The plot for this plagued my dreams so I had to write it down to get it out of my system.  
> Enjoy the 10k monstrosity a random plot bunny gave birth to!

It is a ridiculously overcast day, the sky filled with grey clouds looming over the city, threatening to unleash torrential rain upon the citizens of Insomnia who are getting ready to go about their day.

Gladiolus Amicitia can be seen jogging towards the Citadel. He’s on the last leg of his early morning run and will soon need to prepare for his training session with the future King of Lucis. The future King who he is absolutely sure is going to be late for said training session as it is impossible to wake the boy up before the sun has been up for hours.

Oh well, that’s a job for Ignis anyways and he might as well as use the extra time to run another lap around the neighbourhood. 

With that thought in mind, Gladio takes a right from the road leading to the Citadel to run an extra lap. He sees random citizens out and about, getting ready to start their day and couldn’t help but smile.

It’s been pretty peaceful since the ceasefire between Lucis and Niflheim. The news had increased the hope for a brighter future among the citizens and the city somehow felt much more lighter compared to the oppressing atmosphere that had clung to it during the Niff attacks on Ghalad.

Passing by a few shops, he notices that he’s nearby the tattoo shop he recently had an appointment with.

Ever since he turned 18, he has been thinking of getting a tattoo, an intricately designed form of a bird of prey, one that will hopefully cover his arms and his whole back. He is still not sure about the final design and has been going over the possible tattoo placements with his future tattooist.

Seeing as it will be a huge tattoo with a lot of details, he does not want to ruin it and wants it to be as perfect as possible.

His thoughts on the matter was interrupted by a flash of bright blond hair catching his eye. The unusual hair colour, by lucis standards that is, made him take a quick double take.

Blond is a rare colour in Lucis, where genes were in favour of darker hair and sometimes darker skin. Blond is usually more common overseas in lands like Tenebrae or even Niflheim.

Gladio speeds up a little, hoping to see the face of whoever it is but the person had already turned down another road and disappeared from sight.

They might not have been a natural blond anyways.

Shrugging the encounter off, Gladio quickly finishes his lap and returns to the Citadel.

\---

As he had predicted, Noctis is late.

He had been training by himself for over an hour already when the Prince finally deemed it appropriate to grace him with his presence.

Looking at the disgruntled looking teen who is currently looking as though he would not mind falling asleep right then and there, Gladio sighs.

“C’mon Noct, the sooner we finish training, the sooner you can go nap.” He tries to encourage the boy, knowing the thought of more sleeping will make him concentrate on training, even if it’s for a few hours.

“Fine, I feel more tired than usual for some reason.” Noctis complains, summoning a training sword from the armiger, only to end up holding a fishing rod.

Gladio raises an eyebrow at that, looking at the fishing rod and then at Noctis who is looking at the rod a though it betrayed him.

“You sure you’re ok, princess? We’re not here for fishing.” Gladio couldn’t help but tease, knowing it would annoy Noctis.

“Oh shut up, you know the crystal’s magic has been iffy lately. Dad said something about puberty and magic not mixing well,” Noct complains, his face looking as though he swallowed a lemon whole at the word ‘puberty’.

Laughing at his Prince’s expense, Gladio passes him a training sword from the stock available at the training grounds.

“Come on, If you can land a hit on me, we can finish up training early.”

\---

They had been going at it for an hour and Noctis is visibly frustrated.

Gladio keeps continuously blocking and parrying his attacks to the point where Noctis lets out a garbled cry of frustration and throws the sword right at Gladio.

Eyes widening, Gladio side steps a bit to dodge the sword only to realise Noct is warping. His cry of  “Don’t!” is cut short when he feels Noctis’s magic slam into him and his vision goes dark.

\---

Groaning in discomfort, Gladio throws his hands over his eyes. Where ever he was, it is too bright and last thing he knew, the day had definitely not been a sunny one.

Maybe he is at the medical bay. It could be, ‘cus he is sure he ended up passing out from whatever Noct’s magic had done to him.

The first thing he saw was bright blue eyes staring down at him, a frown of worry marring it. Confused, he lets his eyes roam around what he is seeing, noticing a smattering of freckles and a halo of golden hair.

Is that… an angel?

Did he somehow die?

How embarrassing...

The person shifted a bit and Gladio’s face was hit with direct rays of sunlight, causing him to groan and squint his eyes in discomfort.

“Oh shit, sorry! Are you ok? Do you need help?” A distinctly male voice asks, snapping Gladio’s attention back to the ethereal being looming above him.

Upon closer inspection, said ethereal being appears to be a young man. This causes Gladio to let out another groan, this one out of sheer embarrassment at his previous thoughts. Wanting to get up from wherever he was lying down at, Gladio makes to sit up but finds himself lacking the energy to even twitch.

Could this get any worse…?

First, Noctis manages to knock him out, and then he mistakes some guy for an angel, and now he doesn’t even have the strength to get up. This is so not his day.

“Woah take it easy there! My friends are around here so let me call them for help. I’m Prompto by the way,” The blonde scrambles to stop Gladio from moving any further, rambling away as he helps Gladio to a more comfortable sitting position.

“Prompto? What.. where am I?” Gladio could not help but ask, noticing that wherever he was at is definitely not Insomnia. It was sunny for one thing, and last he checked, Insomnia isn’t made up of sprawling countrysides and what looks like  cliff overlooking the ocean.

“Oh shit, did you hit your head when you fell? Is your vision blurry? Oh god I hope you don’t have a concussion... ,” Prompto panics, looking around the area.

Something or someone must have caught his eye due to the blonde suddenly waving his arms around frantically and calling out “Gladio! Over here!”

What?

How does he know my name?

Gladio can’t help but get even more confused.

“How do you know my name?” He asks right as someone shouts “Prompto! What’s wrong?”.

Wait.

What?

Before Gladio can comprehend what is happening, he feels suddenly light-headed and his vision darkens.

Ugh, not again.

\---

The next time he wakes up, it’s to an unfamiliar wooden ceiling.

“What the fuck…” Gladio groans out before forcing himself to sit up, the previous incident still fresh in his mind.

Call him crazy but he is definitely sure that it was his voice that had called out to Prompto.

Like a 100% sure.

The fact that Prompto called whoever it was ‘Gladio’ cements that fact.

He is brought out from his musings by the sound of the door opening and the sound of heavy set boots entering the room.

“I see you’ve woken up,” The same voice from before comes from the doorway causing Gladio to snap his eyes towards the sound.

A man stood at the doorway, dressed in leather with a sprawling tattoo visible on a broad and muscular chest through the open jacket. With hair reaching his shoulders and a few scars marring his face and chest, Gladio could not help but stare at what looks like him. Well. What looks like him in a few years if he is being honest.

“What the actual fuck…” He couldn’t help but repeat, causing the other to let out a full bellied laugh.

“Let me guess, Noct knocked you, well us, out by accidentally warping through us, right?” Older him grins, walking towards him and taking a seat at a nearby chair.

“He did! What is going on? Where am I? And why am I so… What the fuck man!” Gladio sputtered out, the situation coming off as ridiculous to him.

Not to mention downright improbable.

“Did I fucking time travel? Or is this another universe or some shit?”

“Yes to the time travel, no to the alternative universe. Unless of course we fuck up somehow and tell you things we shouldn’t…” Older him trails off, noticing the incredulous look on Gladio’s face.

“Don’t worry about it, I went throught the same thing. Nothing bad will happen, I promise.” He is quick to reassure, standing up and slapping Gladio on the back.

“Wait, this has happened before… no wait of course it has. You are me in what… how old are you?” Gladio mutters out, frowning at the man in front of him, trying to gauge out how old he is.

“I’m 23.” Older him helpfully supplies, causing Gladio to mutter out a “Holy shit this is actually happening.”

Laughing at the plight of his younger self, older Gladio pats him on the back.

“Now if you think that is worse, Noct is 20, so he is older than you at the moment.”

“Noct is here too? What about Iggy? Who is Prompto anyways?” Gladio asks in rapid succession, causing the older one to smile.

“Now now, one thing at a time. You need to freshen up first before you can meet everyone. Are you sure you are feeling up to it? You can rest more if you want.” Older him waves his questions off, making his way towards the drawers across the bed.

“I’m setting out some spare clothes for you to change into. Who knows how long you have been lying out there for so a shower will do you good.” He explains, taking out a shirt and some pants and setting it down on the bed.

“I want to meet them, I already got enough rest as it is. Oh Astrals I still can’t believe I got knocked out by Noctis of all people…” Gladio’s voice trails off as he gets out of bed and stands next to his future self.

“Damn, I need to know your training regime.” He couldn’t help but size is future self up, noticing the considerable difference in body mass.

Older him laughs and ruffles his hair before heading towards the door.

“Don’t worry about that. Just keep doing what you’re doing and you will be fine. The bathroom is through that door over there so take your time!”

With that older him leaves him alone.

\---

Though older him told him he was free to take as long as he wanted to in the shower, Gladio could not help but rush through the whole process. He is eager to see what his friends look like when they are older. Hopefully he does not screw it up.

Also, he will get to hopefully properly meet blondie, which is a bonus in his opinion.

Quickly drying himself and dressing in the clothes older him had laid out, Gladio could not help but notice how the shirt hung a bit loose on him.

He still has a lot of growing to do it seems.

Gladio chuckles to himself, pleased that his training will pay of in the coming years. That, and from what little he saw, his tattoo doesn’t end up looking like crap.

He looked so badass though. All rugged and scarred, which is curious. Probably won’t get any answers though seeing as it might lead to him somehow screwing up the timeline.

Who cares how he got some scars, it adds character anyways.

\---

When he comes out of the room, the last thing he expected was an indoor balcony overlooking what seems to be the dining area and sitting area of the house. He sees four people sitting and standing around the dining table, Prompto and older him facing his way while the other two had their backs to him.

The moment he opened the door though, it seems as if everyone had come to attention, quickly turning towards him.

“Oh my god, they really were telling the truth!” A man, who upon closer inspection looked a lot like and probably is Noctis, laughs out.

“Why would we lie to you? Does this look like something we can come up with just to mess with you?” Prompto squawks out indignantly, pouting at the thought of Noctis not believing them.

God he’s cute when he pouts...

“Come now, it did seem a tad far fetched but now that we have proof here right in front of us, we can hardly deny it.” The person who is definitely Ignis points out.

He’ll be damned if he doesn’t recognise that accent.

“Honestly, I’m having a hard time as you guys believing I have somehow time traveled. Which by the way, is all Noct’s fault.” Gladio laughs, causing Prompto to burst into laughter and Noctis to chime out a “No it’s not!”

“Dude, how?” Prompto asks, unable to control his glee.

“Remember the time you accidentally warp striked through me?” Older him says, grinning down at Noctis.

“Through you? How is that possible?” Prompto asks, clearly curious.

“That’s the thing, it shouldn’t have done that but at the time I was going through some stuff and the crystals magic was a bit wacky.” Noctis groans out, remembering the day it happened.

“Puberty hardly counts as ‘some stuff’. For some reason it caused the magic in Noctis to become volatile for a certain duration causing such anomalies like Gladio’s disappearance. A disappearance which was never explained due to someone claiming to not remember anything.” Ignish explains, his eyes narrowing as he finishes his explanation.

While Ignis was talking, Gladio chooses the moment to go downstairs towards the group. His eyes taking in the changes in his friends, it soon lands on Prompto who has turned towards Noctis in order to tease the Prince about his magic going through puberty.

Gods Prompto looks positively tiny standing next to older him!

Well, it’s not that Prompto is small, pretty average height for a guy actually, but compared to him, he looks so small.

The perfect size to fit under his arms.

Shaking his head to clear up his thoughts and focus on what’s going on, Gladio inwardly cringed.

He’s acting like a creep, probably.

As creepy as it was, leering at the unsuspecting blonde, Gladio could not help but give him a once over.

Or a twice over.

Ok so he can’t keep his eyes off of him.

Prompto may look tiny compared to older him’s bulky figure, but that doesn’t mean he is by any means waifish. He is slender, sure, but is very obviously built.

The first thing to catch his eyes were the toned biceps which were on full display. They are nice arms, with the kind of definition that comes from working hard to stay fit.

Gladio can appreciate that. There is nothing wrong with working out, be it for gaining strength or improving oneself physically. Seeing as Prompto is wearing what looks like Crownsguard fatigues, he is most probably trained for fighting.

Huh, wonder what he’s specialised with…

Not done taking in Prompto’s body, Gladio continues on to observe how the blonde has nice broad shoulders with tapers off to a tight waist. Looking down, he notices that the blonde’s legs are slender but nicely defined, possible due to how Prompto’s leopard print pants clung nicely to his legs.

Now if only he could check out the situation at the back…

A small huff of laughter stopped him from descending into a more downright perverse train of thought and he quickly snaps his head towards the sound only to meet the leering grin of older him.

Older him raised and eyebrow and tilts his head towards Prompto with a suggestive grin, causing Gladio to fight down a blush of embarrassment at being caught staring at the blonde like a hormone ridden teenager.

“Hey! You’re 18 right? That means you haven’t met Prom yet in your timeline,” Noctis suddenly chimes, causing Gladio to be thankful that he doesn’t have to deal with older him’s teasing looks.

This also means that Prompto has turned his attention towards Gladio and being faced with the bright smile of the blonde head on was doing things to him.

His stomach felt weird for one thing.

It’s as though he is suddenly nervous, which is ridiculous.

He is the sworn shield of the crown Prince of Lucis for Astral’s sake! He can’t get turned into a blushing teenager the moment he has to face such a sunny smile!

Though said sunny smile did belong to a cute blonde…

Who may or may not be just his type.

Depends. Just a pretty face isn’t enough to win his heart over.

“It’s so weird seeing you two side by side! I feel dumb for not noticing the resemblance before,” Prompto breaks him from his thoughts, the blonde looking from him to older him as though he was witnessing something incredible.

Which it must be, seeing as time travel is a pretty extraordinary feat to pull off.

“Well, we cannot blame you for not putting two and two together. We never would have thought it possible if Gladio had not explained it to us.” Ignis adjusts his glasses, looking at him as though he was an anomaly.

Which, again, is understandable.

“I’m Prompto Argentum! Nice to meet ya! Again. This is so weird!” Prompto giggles, the sound making Gladio’s stomach feel funny all over again.

Noctis throws his arms over Prompto’s shoulder and drags the blonde closer to him. “He’s my best friend so you better not bully him yeah? He’s already been vetted by Cor of all people.”

“Seeing as the Marshal trained him personally, it’s safe to say that Prompto is not a threat to the Prince or any of us.” Ignis adds, a weird look on his face as though he is deeply amused by something.

Gladio, meanwhile, is too busy digesting what Ignis had mentioned.

Fuck.

Prompto was trained by the Marshal himself.

Which means he is not just another pretty face.

Which means he is exactly Gladios type.

Fuck...

\---

Without realising it, Gladio ends up spending hours chatting and catching up with everyone. It was more mindless chatter than anything seeing as everyone is careful to not divulge any more information than necessary.

He does find out that Lucis had somehow won the war against Nifflheim with joint effort with Tenebrae and the added aid from Accordo. The world is rid of the accursed starscouge and the demons no more.

The very idea of it boggles Gladio’s mind. The thought that they had come that far within a few scant years is nothing short of amazing and it makes him feel optimistic towards a brighter future.

A brighter future that he is currently experiencing.

A bright future that he could screw up by doing or saying the wrong thing...

Seeing that Gladio is slowly getting overwhelmed by the implications and the multiple questions that are no doubt running through his mind, Ignis decides to cut short their chat by declaring that he has to prepare dinner.

“Oh man, it’s this late already?” Noctis groans out and walks over to the couch in the living area, his desire for a pre-dinner nap obvious with how sluggishly he walked.

“Mhmm! Time sure flies when you’re having fun!” Prompto flashes a grin at Gladio, his eyes twinkling in the orange light of the setting sun.

They looked like Sylleblossoms in bloom, all bright and blue with hints of violet a the edges.

They lit up with such innocence it seems as if Gladio is getting a glimpse of Prompto's soul...

Great, the romance novels he sneakily reads are affecting him now.

When the hell has he ever compared someone’s eyes to a flower?

Until now that is.

Oh Astrals the sunshine haired angel is wreaking havoc in his mind.

“I’m going to go check out the perimeter, heard there is a stray Coeurl lurking around the area so we might need to keep an eye out for it.”

Gladio turns towards the voice only to see older him getting ready to head out.

“A what?! I didn't think they roamed around in this area… Be careful out there, big guy.” Prompto’s worried voice comes from the kitchen area, where he is now helping Ignis get dinner ready.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Chocobo, I’ll be fine!”

With those parting words, older him leaves, though not before sending a wink towards…

Prompto?

Gladio’s eyes are wide as he observes the blonde blush all prettily, his face already scrunched up in a pout.

Cute...

The blonde turns away with a huff, going back to chopping whatever Ignis needed for the dish he was preparing.

“Do you guys need any help?” He could not help but ask, wanting to spend some more time in Prompto’s proximity.

“Nah dude, you still need to rest! Who knows what else Noct’s magic must have done to your body. Just take a seat and chill, yeah?” Prompto is quick to protest, leaving his station to drag Gladio towards one of the armchairs in the living area.

“Just sit tight and relax, Iggy and I will finish up dinner in no time!”

With those parting words the blonde hurries off to aid Ignis, who is figuring out the odds and ends of his recipe as he now has another mouth to feed.

Sitting back down, Gladio makes himself comfortable and snorts to himself when he sees Noctis drooling a bit while being sprawled out on the couch.

Somethings will never change huh…

Dragging his eyes away from Noctis, he notices a few figurines on the side table next to the armchair. They looked like a weird cactus shaped creature, one he has never seen before. Taking one and looking it over he couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous pose of the creature.

“Oh you may be laughing now, but once you have to fight one of those suckers out in the wilds, it’s not all fun and games.”

Gladio startles a bit and finds Noctis looking over at him all bleary eyed.

“Thought you were asleep,” He mutters, setting down the figurine on the table.

“Your stupid laugh woke me up,” Noctis complains, turning on his side to get into a more comfortable position to sleep in.

“Oh shut up, it’s not stupid. What do you mean, these things are real?”

Looking at the incredulous look on Gladio’s face, it was Noctis’s turn to laugh.

“Oh yeah, they are the things of nightmares. They are called Cactuars. Last time we fought one, you ended up taking the brunt of it’s attacks. You looked like a porcupine by the end of it!” Noctis gleefully retells their fight with the Cactuar.

“Poor Prompto was guilty for days, seeing as you ended up taking the brunt of the damage trying to shield him from it’s needle attack.” Ignis calls out from the kitchen, clearly amused by the event, causing Prompto to let out a distressed whine.

“I still have nightmares of that day! You guys made me pick out all the needles, all of them! I felt so bad…”

“I’m sure older me appreciated the help.” Gladio tries to reassure him, not liking seeing the blonde in distress.

“Oh he showed his appreciation alright.” He thought he heard Ignis mutter out.

“All night in fact.” Noct chimes in, a positively devilish grin on his face.

Wait, what.

Did they…? Are they implying that…

“Guys, shut up! C’mon Iggy, we need to finish cooking chop chop!” Prompto scrambles to divert the sudden change in conversation, turning towards the pot he had been stirring.

Snickering to himself, Noctis decides to not tease the blonde any further and lets the topic go.

“Wake me up when dinner’s ready.” With that, the Prince was out like a light.

Gladio just takes in the scene, struck speechless.

He notices the blush that had crawled up the blonde’s neck and the deeply amused looks on Noct’s and Ignis’s faces.

There is definitely something going on and the implications of it all are too much for his poor brain to handle.

It doesn’t stop the hopeful fluttery feeling in his stomach though.

Or the wide grin that’s threatening to break out on his face.

\---

Dinner was a quiet affair despite how chatty the group was a mere hour or so ago. It apparent that they have noticed how Gladio is gradually looking more and more lethargic as the minutes ticked by.

Sure he wants to talk more with the guys and himself, not to mention get to know Prompto a bit more and figure out what exactly is going on between older him and the blond.

It’s obvious that there is something there between the two, even without the previous comments from Noctis and Ignis.

Not to mention how he can see the fond glances older him keeps throwing the blond, who reciprocates with shy smiles.

It’s all so sappy and overly cute that if it were any other couple, he would be making fun of them.

But he’s not, ‘cus really…

He wants whatever they have.

Badly.

\---

The next few mornings are a rinse and repeat of the same routine for everyone, with each person going about their day doing as they pleased.

Gladio stuck with Noctis on the first day, wanting to know just how much the young boy he knew had grown. Though there are still familiar habits that have stubbornly carried on to his adolescence, Noctis has obviously matured into a thoughtful young man who cared deeply for the kingdom he is to inherit.

He learns from Noctis about the place where they are currently at. Cape Caem it is called, and the house they are staying at belongs to the King himself. It is apparently a hideout of sorts disguised as a normal looking farm house, where a secret harbour is kept hidden under the lighthouse nearby.

It’s all fascinating to Gladio, who has never been so far outside the wall prior to this. Sure he has gone camping with his father on occasions, but they usually stick nearby the city instead of wandering any further incase of any emergencies related to the Crown.

He ends up spending most of the first day exploring the area, taking in the scenery and enjoying himself quite thoroughly. The land itself is like a breath of fresh air compared to the concrete jungle Insomnia is mostly made up of. With so much nature surrounding him and the different fauna and flora for him to discover, it is like something out of a dream for a nature lover like him.

It isn’t long before he ends up being dragged off by Noctis, who wants to go fishing. Older him and Ignis choose to stay back at the house but he is ridiculously pleased when Prompto tells them to wait for him.

The trio quickly make their way towards the Caem shore where a prime fishing spot is located.

“The view here can be amazing! Knowing Noct, we will be here for hours so maybe I can get a few shots of the sunset.” Prompto says, fiddling with a camera that Gladio is sure was not there before.

Maybe he kept it in the Armiger?

A flash of blue light catches his eye and Gladio turns just in time to see Noctis summon his fishing gear, making him snort.

“Didn’t know Noct made a habit of storing things other than weapons in the armiger.” He gestures towards Noctis and then at the camera Prompto is aiming at him.

He hears the click of the shutter and raises a brow at Prompto, who grins at him cheekily.

“Noct’s affinity with magic helps him store and keep much more stuff in the armiger than usual so why not? I’m not sure about the specifics but it’s pretty damn convenient!” He says in lieu of telling Gladio why he took a picture of him.

“Uh huh, guess it can come in handy huh. You like taking pictures?” Gladio nods towards the camera, wanting to get to know the cute blonde some more. It’s not like Noctis would be annoyed that he is ignoring him in favour of Prompto, seeing as the Prince is already looking at the waters below with the determination of catching what will likely be their dinner for the night.

“Mhmm, photography is my number one passion. Was actually thinking of becoming a professional photographer but then I met Noct and one thing led to another and now here I am!” Prompto laughs, gesturing with his hands as if to say ‘ta dah!’.

“I guess being a part of the Crownsguard got in the way of that huh,” Gladio muses, earning a head shake from Prompto.

“Nah, it’s not like I had to give up photography completely, I actually take photos at request for a publishing company on the side so it’s actually pretty great.” He explains, smiling at Gladio before snapping a few more pics of Gladio.

“That’s great that you didn’t have to give up your passion. You clearly enjoy it, seeing as you have already taken at least a dozen pics of me in the last five minutes,” Gladio teases him, drawing out a laugh from Prompto.

“Oh hush, I’m the unofficial record keeper of Noct’s everyday life and a time traveler is definitely something for the records.”

“That’s cute,” Gladio couldn’t help but say, the blond’s cheerful attitude towards everything slowly getting to him.

Seeing Prompto blush is an added bonus.

For the rest of the afternoon, Gladio ends up following Prompto along the shoreline, stopping every now and then when something catches the photographer’s eye. He finds it cute how Prompto’s eyes shine whenever he comes across a photo op and how enthusiastic he is about the whole thing.

Hearing Prompto ramble on and on about photography and it's ins and outs was nice too. He gets so passionate when talking about it and it makes Gladio ridiculously pleased to see the blond having a good time.

His sunny smiles ends up making his day.

It also ends up making him feel like a lovesick sap.

Oh well.

\---

The fourth day of his ‘Future Adventure’, kindly dubbed as such by both Noctis and Prompto, he finds out about the chocobos that the guys had rented out for the day.

He had been hanging out around with older him, looking through the other’s collection of ridiculous romance novels when he hears someone squeal in delight. This of course, led to both of them snapping out of the, frankly ridiculous, debate on whether vampires or werewolves make the perfect cliched romance option in whatever sordid tale they read.

If you asked him, his views have changed quite a bit in the coming years.

Anyways, back to the squeal, which if you asked him, sounded a lot like Prompto. It was the sort of squeal Iris sometimes make when she comes across anything she deems too cute to handle.

Thinking of Iris makes him smile. Everyone assured him that his sister was fine with Prompto providing him with pictures he had taken of all of them and Iris prior to them coming to Cape Caem. He remembers older him grumbles about how the girl wants to become the best hunter in all of Lucis and he himself groans at the very thought.

Eh, that’s a problem for when he and Iris gets older.

He quirks an eyebrow when older him grins and motions him to follow him as he makes his way to the front door. Not knowing what to expect, Gladio follows, curious about what that had made the Photographer let out such a sound.

It can’t be a bad thing with how he is hearing cooing noises from outside, which is probably again Prompto.

Peeking out the door, he comes face to face with five Chocobos.

Five Chocobos who are currently preening from the attention laden on them by an ecstatic looking Prompto.

Eh, it could have been worse.

Like Moogles.

He never understood the appeal of those marshmallow looking creatures, neither did he understand Iris’s obsession with them. The damn things don’t even exist anymore for Astrals sake!

Chocobos on the other hand were real, and they actually served other purposes than being just cute, which he mentions to Prompto.

“They are the absolute best!” the blonde crows in response, hugging one of the chocobos around it’s neck, while another starts preening his hair.

“Look Prom, they have accepted you as one of their own. Told you your hair looks lik-” Older him starts to tease but is cut short by the indignant whine of “My hair does not look like a chocobo butt!” that the blond lets out.

Gladio couldn’t help but join in the laughter, noting how cute Prompto looks when he has his face all puffed in a pout.

Prompto was getting more and more endearing to him and it’s ridiculous how he makes him feel.

Ignoring the fluttery feeling in his stomach, Gladio bemoans the fact that he is probably doomed.

He actually can’t wait to meet the cutie in his timeline.

\---

Day six was not a good day for Gladio.

Noctis’s magic is still lingering around in his body and causing complications, made obvious by random spells of dizziness and nausea he suffers. He spends the day in bed where everyone hovers over him, trying to help in anyway they can.

Ignis tries to help by making him some soup but Gladio finds himself unable to keep food down. He tries to eat some but it’s all for naught and Ignis is left feeling thankful that he remembered to keep a bucket next to Gladio’s bed.

Older him obviously knows it is not something serious, but he makes sure that Gladio is kept comfortable and well rested, despite his grumblings about staying in bed all day.

When it was made apparent that Gladio would rather be outside than stuck in bed, where he would be getting the much needed rest for his body to recover, older him sics Prompto on him.

Astrals, the blond is both a blessing and a curse.

The way Prompto dotes over him makes him feel ridiculously flustered while at the same time he wants to wipe away the worried frown marring the blond’s face.

Knowing that he has the undivided attention of his did not help the fluttery feeling inside of him.

Too bad he was pretty out of for the most part.

\---

Day eight.

Day fucking eight.

It starts off as an uneventful day, with Gladio up and about having recovered from the worst of Noctis’ magic induced sickness. He was helping Ignis out in the vegetable farm, helping him tend to the crops when they hear a growl coming from one of the thickets surrounding the farm.

Both Gladio and Ignis are quick to act, summoning their weapons and waiting to see what exactly was lurking out there. They stand there for a few seconds with nothing happening before a huge figure leaps out from the bushes and right at Ignis.

The advisor is quick to act, attacking the beast with Gladio’s aid.

It was a bit overwhelming to be honest, seeing as this is Gladio’s first time fighting such a creature.

It was also the reason why he didn’t keep an eye out for the whiskers and ends up nearly getting hit with them. The sound of the air charging with electricity was what tipped him off for him to dodge just in time.

Ignis makes quick work of disposing off of the Coeurl, making Gladio let out a sigh of relief. He made to walk towards the corpse of the animal when a voice shouts, “Look out!”

He hears gunshots and he turns around just in time to see Prompto charging at the feline that had appeared out of nowhere. Eyes widening in shock, he watches as Prompto swaps his guns out for a huge machine with a saw blade at the end.

Effortlessly swinging around the machine, he watches in awe as the blond takes out the second Coeurl which had tried to sneak up on him and Ignis.

Letting out a whoop of delight, Prompto turns towards Gladio with a pleased grin on his face, oblivious to something important that had just transpired.

Oblivious to how he just stole Gladiolus Amicitias heart.

And also maybe have given him a boner.

In his defence he is still eighteen!

\---

On day nine, Gladio decides that he needs some alone time to mull over everything that has happened.

The days are passing by like a blur and every single day he has been having realisations and coming to terms with his feelings when it comes to a certain golden haired angel.

He isn't the type to fall hard and fast when it comes to love.

Well, he didn't think he was the type but this whole excursion to the future is trying to turn his beliefs on it's  head.

Time travel? Didn't even think it possible until he ends up being the unwilling participant.

The starscourge? Fucking eradicated, apparently.

Being the older one out of his group of friends? Even Noctis is older than him over here!

Pretty little blonds that can kick ass and be the sweetest person he has ever met? Steals his heart in a week.

Or maybe less than a week…

He has been acting oddly flustered whenever he talks to the blond since the very beginning.

He is holed up in his designated room, feigning a headache in order to get some alone time. It doesn't seem like anyone believed him but they apparently respected the fact that he needs some time to himself.

While he enjoyed the company of his friend’s future selves, he finds himself missing the ones he know.

Sure Noctis and Ignis are still the same people, but it is obvious that they are keeping a lot from him. During conversations, they tend to change subjects when they accidentally go too much into detail about things that have happened.

Their shared experiences and their stories are something Gladio wants to know but at the same time he can't blame them for keeping the information from him.

The last thing he wants is to change a part of the future and ruin the idyllic lives they are leading now.

Sighing to himself, Gladio lies down on the bed.

A nap will do him good.

\---

He wakes up to Prompto gently nudging his shoulders, clearly trying to wake him up.

“C’mon big guy, it's already time for dinner.” the flaxen haired angel of his dreams whispered, a loving smile on his face.

Gladio opens his eyes and stares up at Prompto, noting how the smile looks so much like the ones he gives to older him. Maybe he's still half asleep…

Seeing how Gladio is struggling to keep his eyes open, Prompto lets out a small giggle.

“Don't go falling asleep on me now,” Prompto pokes at Gladio’s nose, earning him a disgruntled sound and a half hearted swap at his hands. “You're so cute when you're sleepy”.

“‘M not cute,” Gladio couldn’t help but grumble, forcing himself to sit up.

“Psh, you try to act all manly but you're as cute as a button when you're all sleepy.” the blond teases him, moving to sit down next to the shield.

“Thought dinner was ready,” Gladio mutters out, wiping his eyes a bit as though to rid them of the sleepiness clinging to him. He never did like the groggy feeling he gets when he wakes up from a nap gone rogue.

“Iggy is still preparing dinner. I actually wanted to check in on you… that and I know you hate napping for more than 30 minutes.” Prompto stops him from rubbing his eyes out by taking Gladio’s hands in his. “You're going to hurt your eyes.” he gently chides.

Still holding his hands, Prompto levels him with a look, one that says he is there for Gladio if he ever needs him.

That one sincere look is enough to let the floodgates open.

“Prom, I’m just feeling all out of place. It's like I'm looking into a life that is not my own even though I am right there. I know a lot of things have to be kept a secret but it somehow makes me feel like I don't fit in here.” Gladio sighs, struggling to find the words to explain his plight.

Squeezing the hands in his, he continues, “Ok so I know I don't belong in this current timeline. But at the same time it's hard to connect with the others when your memories are something of the past to them and theirs have never happened to you. At times, It feels like I'm an outsider looking in!”

Through the whole spiel Prompto keeps quiet, looking at him encouragingly, gently squeezing their still connected hands when Gladio struggles to voice his emotions.

Seeing as Gladio is done venting for the time being, Prompto scoots closer to the hulking man.

“I get what you're saying, big guy. Sometimes it feels like they are talking a whole nother language when you are still struggling speak in Lucian. What I do know is that despite the gap in experiences, they are still your friends and they will do anything to keep you included in their lives.”

Gladio stares at the blond as he speaks, the dim light from the setting sun casting a dim glow on the man making him look downright ethereal.

Meeting Gladio’s eyes, Prompto continues, “I know they want to include you in the inside jokes and their stories but I feel that they are scared to tell you all of it. As am I. We are scared that with the extra knowledge you end up having might change something in your future.”

Releasing Gladio’s hands Prompto cups Gladio’s face bringing their foreheads together.

Looking into the vulnerable amber eyes of the shield, Prompto whispers, “We are scared that something might change and we might not experience our adventures with you. That all our memories together will change or disappear.”

Gladio stares wordlessly into Prompto's eyes, the blond’s words running through his mind.

He gets the feeling that Prompto is not just talking about the group as a whole.

Raising a hand to caress the blond’s freckle covered cheek, Gladio swallows as his actions causes Prompto to let out a sweet sigh.

The air around them feels as though it's charged. As though the smallest of movements could ignite the very air they breathe.

Gladio lets his eyes drag away from Prompto’s, taking in his features. His eyes settle on the blond’s lips, feeling something inside of him urge him to do something. Anything.

As though he is anticipating something, Prompto subconsciously licks his lips, making the already pink and plush looking mouth look downright obscene.

It was a mere scant millimetres between them. Gladio would just have to move a little bit in order to capture those lips with his. To finally taste the blond.

Oh Gladio definitely wanted.

Oh how he wanted…

Steeling his mind, he draws closer to the blond, bypassing his lips completely.

It’s obvious how Prompto wasn't expecting that by his sudden intake of breath.

Instead of kissing him properly, Gladio chooses to plant a chaste kiss on Prompto's cheek, lightly dragging his lips towards the blonde’s blushing ear before he whispers,

“I’m tempted… but I want my first kiss with you to be your first kiss with me.”

With those parting words, Gladio pushes himself off from the bed and heads towards the washroom where tries and fails not to grin when he catches a glimpse of the surprised yet pleased look on Prompto’s blushing face.

\---

The next morning feels like a montage of shy looks and glances stolen between Gladio and Prompto. They try to be discreet but it's obvious by Noct’s teasing that they are being anything but that.

When Ignis and Prompto leave to buy some necessities, it's end up with both Gladios stuck with their resident sleepy Prince.

With the graceful laziness that made up Noctis Lucis Caelum, the Prince deposits himself onto the couch, watching the two Gladios curiously.

Ok so he sprawled himself across one of the armchairs in the least befitting way of a Prince.

If Ignis were there, he would be rolling his eyes right out of his head in exasperation.

“So Gladio One and Two,” Noctis starts, earning him a raised eyebrow from Gladio and a snort of amusement from older him.

“What do you want, Your laziness?” Gladio couldn’t help but say, grinning in tandem with his future self.

“Oh shush, I'm just curious about something.” Pointing at Gladio, Noctis asks older him, “Are you jealous of him? Prom seems pretty taken by him you know.”

Older him stares at Noctis before letting out a laugh.

“Noct, buddy, you are forgetting that that is me. I have already lived through all this before. If I were jealous, that would be pretty damn stupid.” Older him is still chuckling as he explains it.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. What about you? What are your thoughts on this whole… debacle?” Noctis nods at Gladio.

“I ain't complaining. From the looks of it, I'm living the life. Just need to not screw up somehow and ruin all of that.” Gladio says, a tinge of worry colouring his words at the very end.

“Don't worry about it. Just remember what Prom told us last night, yeah?” Older him says, prompting Noctis to ask Gladio if talking was all he did with a wicked waggle of his eyebrows.

Older him leers at Noct and says, “Let’s just say his inaction got me some action last night.”

Noct snorts before calling them both ‘gross’ and Gladio can't help but laugh as he hi fives his future self.

The rest of the afternoon is spent with both Gladios tag-teaming to tease the prince with embarrassing childhood memories until Ignis and Prompto came home from their shopping excursion.

Both Gladios head on over to help them with their haul, earning them both a kiss on the cheek from Prompto.

It’s a simple yet sweet gesture which has Gladio blushing and feeling as though the day is suddenly much brighter. Hearing a snort of amusement cutting through his bliss, Gladio glowers at Ignis who smiles knowingly at him.

“Ugh, it’s so gross how smitten you are,” Noctis passes by him, grumbling under his breath though he isn’t fooling anyone with how pleased he looks to see his baby shield in love.

\---

That night, Gladio finds himself tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He has a niggling feeling at the back of his mind which is bothering him since he does not know what it meant.

With a sigh of annoyance, he gets out of bed and throws on a shirt, hoping that a walk would tire him out. He tries to be quiet as it’s already past midnight and probably everyone is already asleep.

Quietly tugging his boots on, Gladio walks outside, marveling at how peaceful the night is. With all the daemons gone, the nights are finally free from danger bar the occasional wild animal or two that stumble across the house.

Noticing how it’s brighter than usual, he looks up to see the full moon, shining brightly without any clouds hindering it’s light. It made for quite the view with the ocean glistening in the moonlight with the full moon as the backdrop surrounded by thousands of stars.

Prompto would love this sort of setting.

He thinks about how the blond would rave on and on about the lighting while taking a dozen or so pictures and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

He really is cute when he gets excited over the perfect photo opportunity.

His gaze wanders and his eyes catch the looming figure of the lighthouse.

He has been up there a few times before, always in the morning though as the view was simply breathtaking. Wondering what it would like under the glow of the moon, Gladio makes his way towards the lighthouse.

Might as well go up and see for himself.

\---

When the elevator comes to a halt at the very top of the lighthouse, Gladio doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The door of the elevator opens, practically soundless compared to when he first rode on it.

He remembers the grimace on Ignis’s face when they heard the jarring screech of the door opening.

Guess he had the doors fixed.

Stepping outside, he hears something…. Weird.

It almost sounds like…

Walking around a little, he sees two figures on the ground, passionately kissing.

Scrambling to keep himself from being seen, Gladio keeps himself near the wall and behind one of the pillars.

Sure, he knew there was something serious going on between older him and Prompto, but this was the first time he has seen them do anything that wasn’t overly chaste.

He covertly watches the two figures kiss, feeling a bit like a pervert despite all things considering…

Is watching himself make out with the man of his dreams weird?

Yeah… yeah it is.

Inwardly groaning to himself, he can’t help but look back at the two.

Older him is leaning against the wall while Prompto is on his lap, lightly grinding away as they kissed. The moonlight bathed the two in a pale glow and Gladio finds himself unable to keep his eyes off of Prompto.

The blond looks simply irresistible in the height of passion, his soft moans and whimpers making Gladio grow hard. He watches on as Prompto breaks the kiss to take off his shirt, letting out a low groan as he takes in the pale expanse of flesh laid out in the open.

Gladio can’t help but let his hands trail downwards, squeezing the growing hardness confined in his pants. Another low groan escapes him and it apparently catches the attention of older him, who glances right at him and grins devilishly.

Gladio feels embarrassment welling up at him at being caught watching them but he is quickly distracted when Prompto lifts himself up to rid himself of his pants.

He takes that as his cue to leave, not wanting to see more.

Call him a romantic, but he actually wants to wait before he sees the blond naked.

Despite the opportunity laid out before him, he wants to experience it himself properly with Prompto without any prior knowledge, whenever it will be.

He hurries down the Lighthouse, letting the two lovebirds at the top have their privacy.

Or… well, the illusion of it.

Didn’t know he and Prompto were of the adventurous sorts, doing it out in the open. The idea of it makes him all the more hot and bothered and Gladio ends up struggling to keep his mind off of the fair haired siren at the top of the lighthouse.

As they say, you learn something new everyday, even if it is about yourself.

\---

Walking quietly into the house, Gladio removes his shoes and lays down on the couch. He can’t be bothered to go up to his room and the couch seems comfortable enough with how much Noctis drapes himself over it to nap at at all hours of the day.

Shuffling around to make himself comfortable, Gladio feels something poking him from behind. Sitting up to dig out whatever it is from the couch cushions, he finds a stray cactuar figurine lodged between them.

He lays back down and falls asleep, the figurine clutched tight in his hands.

\--- 

“Gampa! Gampa! Ist a monsther!”

A child’s scream wakes him up, causing him to sit up in shock and wildly look round the room to figure out what was happening.

Hang on…

This room is-

His thoughts are cut short by a pillow hitting him smack on the face. Scrambling to his feet, he sees Jared’s grandson run out of the room.

Did he get back to the present?

He hears two sets of feet rushing towards the room and his eyes widen when he sees both his father and Jared enter the room.

“Dad?” Was all Gladio could utter before he is drawn into a tight hug.

He hugs back, feeling a bit disorientated, even more so when he realises that he is still clutching the Cactuar figurine.

“Gladiolus! How did you get here? We have been searching for you everywhere!” His father exclaims, still not letting Gladio out from the embrace. His tone is laced with worry and relief and Gladio couldn’t help but hug him back, “I’m here dad, I’m here.”

Jared is quick to lead the father son duo towards his sitting area, giving them space. He tries to shoo a curious and still scared Talcott from peeking in on the two but is stopped by Gladio.

“Come here kid, I won’t hurt you.”

Talcott is reluctant but Jared ushers him forward.

“You no monsther?” The toddler asks shyly, trying to hide behind his Grandfather’s legs.

“Yeah, I’m not a monster. Come here, I have something for you,” Gladio approaches the child and kneels down, showing him the Cactuar figurine. “See this? This is a Cactuar. It will protect you from monsters.” He offers the figurine to the toddler, who reluctantly takes it with wide eyes.

“Gampa! The cactha save me!” Talcott shouts, running off with the Cactuar figurine and causing Jared to sigh and Gladio to laugh.

After Jared excuses himself, Gladio turns towards his father.

“I need to speak with the King.”

\---

He ends up meeting with the King that very night.

Apparently the news of his disappearance has been kept quiet with only a select few knowing about it, including a worried Noctis and Ignis. Gladio explains to the king about his trip to the future and is advised to keep the details of his journey to himself. It was wiser for them to not know.

The matter is kept private between Gladio, his father and the King. King Regis explains to them how vital it is that they keep the fact that Gladio had time traveled.

“If the wrong person were to know of it, there is no knowing what they would do to get the power. As it is there are people under suspicion within our ranks. Do not divulge this information to anyone.” Regis explains, his words laced with the weariness of a King who has seen and experienced betrayal many a times before.

Gladio offers to act as though he has no memory of what had occurred during his disappearance and everyone agrees to act as though he just appeared out of nowhere with no memory of the ten days he had been gone.

\---

For the first week, Noctis showers him with apologies and gifts, clearly guilty about what had occurred. He had asked once, where Gladio had ended up and Gladio lies and tells him that it was as though he had been asleep for those ten days.

When he meets up with Ignis the next day, the future advisor wonders if Gladio had been sucked into the armiger itself before being expelled to a place of importance.

Gladio snorts and asks, “Why the hell did the crystal decide to spit me out into little Talcott Hester’s room then?”, causing Ignis to laugh.

Both the prince and advisor had been amused when Gladio regaled the tale of being attacked by the toddler who mistook him for a monster.

\---

Thoughts of Prompto haunts him for weeks.

His dreams feature the blond heavily, be it a steamy or a cutesy one, slowly torturing Gladio.

He is at his wits end when one day, while he is out jogging, he catches the sight of blond hair. It belongs to a jogger who is a few meters ahead of him, reminding him of the day he ended up time travelling.

He recalls seeing the same head of hair that day too.

Gladio is curious to know whether it is Prompto, but is reluctant to approach him. He does not want to ruin their future by being impatient. He is content to wait until fate decides it is time for them to meet.

It doesn’t mean he doesn’t keep an eye out for the blond jogger of course.

\---

Loving touches, giggles, happy sighs and whimpers haunting his dreams.

He dreams of kissing Prompto. Of passionate embraces where they worship each other’s bodies, slowly bringing one another to completion.

Dreams of the many ways he will woo the blond, the many ways he will win over Prompto’s heart.

The many ways he can make the blond happy.

Dreams of the little things like how his eyes shine violet and blue.

The quirk of his lips when he smiles, how plush his lips are when he pouts.

Phantom hands caress his cheeks, reminding him of the day they had been so close. Just a hairsbreadth away from letting their lips meet.

He dreams of a lighthouse bathed in moonlight, where two lovers are deep in their passionate embrace. How the moonlight reflects off of Prompto’s naked body. Of the rhythmic grinding of their hips in tandem with the waves on the shore below.

Most often than not, he wakes up gasping for breath, a name dying on his lips of someone he has yet to meet.

\---

A year later finds Gladio sitting at a cafe with Ignis. They are there due to Noctis requesting them to meet up with him so he can introduce someone to them. Ignis is already worrying over what sort of person the Prince is bringing, knowing that Noctis does not really have a great track record of friends.

Gladio sighs at the thought, thinking back to the long list of people that have tried to befriend the Prince in order to get more fame or for his money.

He is distracted from his thoughts when the bell over the cafe’s door jingles as it opens, Noctis quickly heading towards their table with someone behind him.

“Sorry we’re late! We had to stay back a bit since Prom misplaced his pencil case,” Noctis explains as he slumps on to the chair in front of Ignis.

Gladio snorts at the explanation and is going to reply with something but halts at the name Noctis mentioned.

Prom…?

Now that Noctis has sat down, he is no longer obscuring the view of the person behind him who smiles at them nervously.

There is no mistaking the sunshine haired angel he met a year ago. Gladio takes in the blond’s appearance, unable to handle how adorable he looked. Without his hair styled up, blond bangs framed Prompto’s face making him appear more youthful and the smattering of freckles remains unchanged. He looks smaller than his future self, which is understandable, but his features remain the same from his eyes to his lips, which are currently shaped into a nervous smile.

Meeting the blond’s eyes, Gladio gives him the most charming smile he could muster, feeling ridiculously pleased when Prompto blushes prettily and smiles back shyly.

He swears he can literally feel his heart soar.

He is that happy!

This was it.

This is the fated meeting he has been waiting for since he got back.

Spending the rest of the afternoon trying charm Prompto, Gladio vows to win over the heart of the blond haired angel.

After all, how hard could it be?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this down in a rush, almost as though I was in a trance so please let me know if there are any mistakes to fix!  
> Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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